HighTower Advisors LLC Has $19.81 Million Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 0.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 57,383 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 531 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $19,811,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Trillium Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 1st quarter worth about $2,667,000. Trust Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 19.2% during the 1st quarter. Trust Asset Management LLC now owns 2,865 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $989,000 after acquiring an additional 461 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 68,054 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $23,495,000 after acquiring an additional 3,238 shares in the last quarter. AIA Group Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 12.0% during the 1st quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 22,081 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,623,000 after acquiring an additional 2,362 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 4,176 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,442,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Susan E. Pietrucha sold 13,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $344.13, for a total value of $4,645,755.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 11,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,109,256.33. This represents a 53.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 10,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $337.17, for a total value of $3,540,285.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 91,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,741,474.75. The trade was a 10.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Down 0.3%

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $292.62 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $308.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $322.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The stock has a market cap of $75.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.57 and a beta of 0.68. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $274.25 and a 12 month high of $351.23.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.36 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.20 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 13.17%. The company’s revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.29 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $371.00 to $373.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $352.00 to $372.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $345.00 to $322.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $331.07.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co engages in the provision of insurance brokerage, reinsurance brokerage, consulting, and third-party claims settlement and administration services. It operates through the following segments: Brokerage, Risk Management, and Corporate. The Brokerage segment consists of retail and wholesale insurance brokerage operations.